I have a mixed family. While my wife and I are both (currently) using Android phones, as is one of my children; my other child uses an iPhone.

It's important for us to stay in contact, and phone calls aren't always viable. SMS is unreliable for us and, in any event, we only have small allotments of SMS messages available (to keep our mobile plans from being too expensive).

I'm looking for a messaging solution that will work for all of us.

The app should be available for iPhone and in the Google Play Store. (No sideloading.)

It should not use SMS as its delivery mechanism.

Free is good, but not required.

We have been using Kik Messenger, and it's okay, but technically we're violating the Terms of Service (because my kids aren't 17) and I'm tired of the unsolicited spam chat requests. Please don't suggest that.

Do you have privacy and security requirements?
– Jan DoggenDec 1 '14 at 14:45

@Jan: Nothing extraordinary. It's just quick notes to each other. "Dad, I'm ready to be picked up." "Honey, pick up some milk at the grocery." "Kids, there's meatloaf in the fridge. I'll be late."
– Fish Below the IceDec 1 '14 at 14:52

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Whatsapp and Viber. I'm personally in love with Whatsapp, but not long ago it became a paid app on a subscription base. I believe it was 1$ per year. Viber is quite good itself too, if not even better than Whatsapp as it allows free Viber calls with very good quality if you are calling withing the country you live at, if you try Viber calls with someone abroad it's still possible, but the connection is usually horrible. Alike Skype, but running well on phones. 100% free (at least for now :-))
– Ramzy ShahDec 5 '14 at 7:34

I'd also throw in Slack as not so much a chat application, but a communication tool with channels to clearly list items.
– DankyNankyJan 10 '17 at 9:43

8 Answers
8

Google Hangouts works well for this. It was formerly known as Google Talk but the iOS and Android apps are now "Google Hangouts". It actually supports voice and video, but I haven't used those features. It syncs well between all clients, so if you use a computer and a phone it's seamless to transition a conversation between devices. You can also do group messaging, as well as individual messages.

is a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging aggregator for smartphones, tablets and personal computers

is available for Android, iOS, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, Windows Phone and Java ME mobile operating systems.For non-natively supported devices, a WAP interface is available. For desktop computers, clients are available for both Windows and Mac OS X.

supports interaction with popular messaging services such as Twitter, Facebook Chat and Google Talk

is a cross-platform instant messaging service for smartphones that uses the internet for communication. In addition to text messaging, users can send each other graphical stickers, emoticons, images, videos, audios, files, voice messages, contacts and location

Hike uses a 128-bit SSL encrypted, firewalled server for the exchange of media and text messages only on wifi. Messages are stored locally in the user's device and the data is not backed-up to Hike's server

Telegram is a messaging app with a focus on speed and security. It’s super-fast, simple, secure and free.

Telegram seamlessly syncs across all of your devices and can be used on desktops, tablets and phones alike. You can send an unlimited amount of messages, photos, videos and files of any type (.doc, .zip, .pdf, etc.). Telegram groups have up to 200 people and you can send broadcasts to up to 100 contacts at a time. Be sure to check our website for a list of Telegram apps for all platforms.

Wire is a newly released cross-platform messaging app for Android and iOS. The main advantage over Kik messenger is that it's young and not wide-spread. That means you could have it all to yourself with very low risk of encountering spammers.

I know this comment isn't necessarily relevant to the question, but according to support.wire.com/hc/en-us/articles/… it's likely that Wire has the capability to read everybody's messages. I can't believe that somebody would release yet another new messaging app that leaves all their customers open to wholesale spying.
– Greg HewgillDec 4 '14 at 19:55

1

Doesn't look trustworthy at all; I bet it's one of these "attract people with a pretty UI and exciting features and then sell their data and conversations to some ad company". I suggest you take a look at some paid options; even Whatsapp (Facebook) looks more trustworthy than this.
– user111Dec 5 '14 at 15:04

Threema, a paid end-to-end encrypted chat application is a good option, and it's available for all major mobile platforms - iPhone, Android and Windows.

Telegram is another option, it also puts the accent on encryption and privacy however it appears to be flawed, but nevertheless you'll get (at worst) the same level of privacy as SMS so if you don't mind then use it, it's free and the UI is pretty good.